Practice putting apparatus



June 12, 1962 A. J. HESIDENCE PRACTICE PUTTING APPARATUS Fiied June 5, 1959 E w m9. A w .c .1 I, mm M w A w A Mm H. m L M w w v W U Q Q m 4 AK. 9 WA A A B Q A NOE N, A h; w w %P.\ v A .o fol N. w v

ATTYS.

3,38,72fi Patented June 12, 1962 3,038,726 PRACTICE PUTTING APPARATUS Arthur J. Hesidence, 369 Crosby St., Akron, Ohio Filed June 5, 1959, Ser. No. 818,390 2 Claims. (Cl. Z73176) This invention relates to practice putting apparatus and more particularly to apparatus which may be employed within or out of doors wherever a suitable supporting surface is available to provide a suitable surface upon which to practice putting or to be used for recreational or amusement purposes involving the putting of a golf ball.

Hereto-fore it has been proposed to provide practice putting cups which could be placed on a carpet. However, such cups as have been proposed did not set into the floor covering and required a conical approach surface about the cup. Such an inclined surface destroyed the usefulness'of the device as a practice apparatus as the inclined surface required a higher speed of approach than a flat surface.

The present invention aims to overcome the foregoing objections and to provide a uniform putting course in which the cup or cups are sunk beneath the putting surface and inclined approaches are eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a putting course of material having a cellular uniform surface upon which the ball will roll accurately and which will provide a surface simulating a good putting green.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a putting course which is flexible and will adapt itself to underlying surfaces and which may be rolled up when not in use.

A further object is to provide a putting course having cups at opposite ends thereof so that successive putting may be done in reverse directions.

A further object is to provide a putting course having a multiplicity of cups which may be interchangeably positioned therein as desired.

These and other objects will appear from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof.

Of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the putting apparatus of the invention in use showing a player in the act of putting thereon;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a side view thereof; and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2.

The invention generally comprises apparatus including an elongate strip of flexible material of uniform thickness which may be laid flat upon a floor or other support and having a cup opening therethrough in at least one end thereof, there preferably being a cup at each end of the strip, and stop bars of similar material provided at the ends of the strip to prevent overrunning of a ball. A removable cup is usually received in each cup opening.

Referring to the drawings which show one embodiment of the invention, the numeral 1 designates a strip of suitable cellular or spongy material of uniform grain, the strip being of uniform thickness and having an exposed cellular putting surface adapted to engage the ball without slipping. A suitable material is made of foamed plastic such as urethane foam-polyester, or other urethane foamed substances. The strip is generally of about onefourth to one-half inch in thickness and about eighteen inches, or more in width although wider strips may be used where more than two cups are desired.

A cup opening 2 is out completely through the strip preferably near one end of the strip and centrally of its width. A similar hole 3 is provided in the opposite end so that the same strip may be used in putting back and forth. For stopping roll of the ball, cross stop bars 4 and 5 are mounted across opposite ends of the strip and may be secured thereto as by use of a conventional adhesive, or cement.

A removable cup 6 is provided to fit frictionally in a cupopening. It has a flat bottom and vertical sides which extend to or short of the upper surface of the strip. The cups may carry numbers and may be of molded plastic or of metal.

While other flexible materials may be used for the putting strip the urethane foam material has been found to have a coeflicient of friction providing desired drag to the ball which makes it entirely satisfactory as a putting course. The urethane foam material may be mounted on the face of a flexible support such as sponge latex, if desired.

The putting course may be printed or otherwise marked to designate putting positions and the cup openings, especially where more than two are provided.

While a certain embodiment and details have been described and illustrated in order to point out the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined by the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. Practice putting apparatus comprising an elongate strip of flexible sheet material of uniform and substantial thickness, said strip being of cellular material having exposed cells on its upper surface, a cup opening formed in and extending through said strip adjacent one end of the strip, a resilient stop bar adhesively and permanently secured to and extending completely across said end of the strip at the margin thereof, and a cup adapted to be held frictionally in said opening with its upper lip being flush with the upper face of the strip, said strip and stop bar being made of foamed urethane plastic material, said cup being of a depth equal to the thickness of said elongate strip to be additionally supported on the same surface as said strip, said strip with said stop bar thereon being adapted to be rolled up along the longitudinal axis of said strip for compact positioning thereof.

2. Practice putting apparatus comprising an elongate strip of flexible sheet material of uniform and substantial thickness, said strip being of cellular plastic material, a cup opening having cylindrically shaped side walls extending through said strip adjacent but spaced from each end of the strip, a resilient stop bar of uniform cross section for the length thereof adhesively and permanently secured to extend completely across both said ends of the strip, and a cylindrical cup adapted to be snugly received in each of said openings having cylindrical upper lips flush with the upper face of the strip, said cups including only fiat bases with cylindrical side walls extending upwardly therefrom, said strip and stop bars being made of resilient cellular plastic material, said cups being of a depth equal to the thickness of said elongate strip for support on the same surface as said strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Smith Mar. 20, 1906 ONeil Sept. 6, 1910 Angell Apr. 27, 1926 Jackson Dec. 28, 1926 Reirden Aug. 7, 1928 4 Terry Feb. 16, 1932 Luddy May 3, 1932 Gerding Jan. 25, 1949 Shapiro Mar. 26, 1957 Price Dec. 30, 1958 Scelzo July 14, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Modern Plastics, November 1954, pp. 214-216. Modern Plastics, August 1955, pp. 102104. 

